About

What is this thing?

Welcome to Up The Geek! A place for any and all weary travellers who feel that they’re drowning in an endless sea of pop culture and nerdy pastimes. Yes, it does appear that in the last few years the geeks have begun to inherit the Earth, but at what cost?

Between multiple cinematic universes, endless video game sequels, stacks and stacks of comic books and enough TV shows to keep you busy until the end of time, how is any self respecting nerd supposed to carry on? Well… Cue the music.

So who is this guy?

I’m Ben and I’m a 25 year old writer at the tail end of a degree in writing and film studies in Cambridge, UK. I’m originally from Essex, but I moved here to be closer to the campus. I was able to get my start as a critic writing reviews for a publication called Take One, covering the annual Cambridge Film Festival.

I started Up The Geek to satiate my passion for writing, excuse the amount of time I spend absorbing media, and maybe even help someone decide whether to get into that show, see that film or buy that game along the way. In a vast ocean of ways to spend our downtime, we’ve all got to help each other steer clear of shallow waters (plots), jagged rocks (graphics) and terrible analogies (…what?).

This is Up The Geek, and I am your paddle.

And he’s writing about what now?

I love almost all types of film and eagerly jump on as many new releases as I can, but I’m a particularly big fan of superheroes, be they Marvel, DC, Dark Horse or whatever. When I’m not prancing across rooftops in obscenely clingy tights (unrelated) I can usually be found in the cinema, whisper-explaining all the niche references in the latest super-flick to my incredibly patient friends.

Since I am a human being with a pulse, I also like to catch some of the fine shows that pass across my TV screen every now and then. There’s an incredibly vast and ever expanding offering of heart-stopping, cheek-clenching drama series’ on the tube these days, not to mention online streaming services pumping out more and more originals each year, so I’ll be trying to cover as many of these as I possibly can.

On top of all this, I’m an avid gamer. Much like my film tastes, I try my hand (or at least thumbs) at pretty much anything that catches my eye, so I always end up playing a nice variety of genres. That being said, I’ve always had a soft spot for narrative driven games, horrors and epic open world RPGs, and since I’m not fancy enough to get sent review copies from devs yet (give me time), these are the ones I’ll most likely be prioritising.

Anything else?

Yes. When I’m not writing reviews or engaging in “research” for said reviews, I’ve got this book that I’m planning to publish in the next year or so. It’s Tech Noir (which is super fun to say), so it’s like science fiction meets 40’s detective films. So that’s awesome. I’ll be putting up details about that closer to the time, along with sample chapters of future work if the first one gets any interest.

In the nearer future, I’ll be adding a “Story Time” section that will be filled over time with any short stories I pop out, and I’ll be filling in the blog section with occasional posts about anything I find to be particularly interesting. Or more likely, detailed descriptions of funny things I saw from the train window. Whatever works. Anyway that’s me. Below you’ll find a complimentary slideshow of some of the times I, an adult man, have played fancy dress with my friends. So enjoy that.